


The Biggest Lie

by Stratagem



Series: Voltron Space Family [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Langst, Little Sis looking out for her Big Bro, Pre-Voltron, Protective Siblings, Sibling Bonding, but lance is tough too!, probably langst?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-03 13:28:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10968210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stratagem/pseuds/Stratagem
Summary: Lance goes home for a visit, and his little sister is worried that something bad is going to happen to him. It just happens to be a few weeks before he launches into space in a magic lion robot. Is that considered bad?





	The Biggest Lie

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Voltron!
> 
> A/N: I just have all the family feels, okay? And I need McClain family feels right noooow, plus Lance being the best big brother ever. Also, his baby sister has a strange 6th sense about things, though this'll eventually get explained in Water and Blood. This takes place during Lance's last visit home before disappearing into space on a giant blue lion robot. It might count as langst? I don't know what langst qualifications are, so I'm just going to tag it as langst in case it is…

"Maybe she's not feeling well?"

"Or she's just being a big baby. Like usual."

Montez rolled his eyes. As the eldest McClain sibling currently in the room, he apparently felt like he needed to be the most mature, too. "Theo, don't be such a brat."

"He can't help it, that's just his personality," Lance said, smirking at Theo. Still…he reached over and rested his wrist against Josie's forehead. No fever. But it was a little strange that she was being so clingy.

Since the moment he had walked through the front door of the house for his furlough, Josie had been by his side as much as possible and found every excuse to stick to him. Not only that, but she seemed sort of sad or worried. It was hard to tell, and when he asked her about it, she would just shake her head.

When he pulled his wrist away, Josie nuzzled into his arm and leaned her head against him, making it difficult to maneuver his console controller. Normally that would've been annoying, but he was getting worried about her.

Sure, they always hung out a lot when he was home, but she usually didn't act like a barnacle or look for him every time he was out of her sight. Last night when he had gone out with some old friends, he had left her at the doorstep, looking like she was about to cry.

Which, you know, made him feel like the best big brother ever.

"Jo, why don't you come over here and give Lance some space to breathe?" Montez said, "You're smothering him." He was sitting in the big armchair closer to the TV, and the fluffy beanbag that Josie usually claimed was by that chair.

"I don't want to," she mumbled.

"You're being annoying," Theo said, leaning forward, pushing against the couch cushions on the other side of Lance. "Like a little leech. Or a tick! Josie the tick, tick, tick."

Josie frowned and hid her face against Lance's arm.

"And you're a mosquito," Lance said, "Which is way worse." He unfolded one of his legs and used it to shove Theo against the arm of the couch, squashing him.

Theo yelped. "I can't see, Lance, stop it!"

"Eat cushion, mosquito-face."

"Get off!"

"And Mama wonders why I never come home…" Montez paused the game and got up to separate his younger brothers. He was promptly yanked into the battle as well when Theo punched out and caught him in the thigh.

While her brothers wrestled, Josie climbed up onto the back of the couch and perched there, waiting patiently.

" _Mija_ , get off the couch like that," Papa said as he walked by, "And boys, break it up! Or take it outside, you pick."

Lance wriggled out of the fight, leaving Montez and Theo yelling at each other and Papa scolding both of them. He stepped up to the back of the couch backwards and glanced over his shoulder at Josie. "Wanna go to the beach?"

"Mhmm." She jumped onto him for a piggyback ride, locking her legs around him and looping her arms about his neck.

They headed out the door, Lance announcing where they were going to whoever happened to be listening. Abuela was out working in her herb garden, so she at least saw them as Lance took off toward the beach.

As Lance walked, Josie hummed little snatches of a song, her chin occasionally bouncing against his shoulder. Being around Josie was relaxing. She didn't usually expect or need him to amuse her, even though she was just a kid. She was perfectly capable of entertaining herself with imaginary games or daydreaming, which sometimes got her into trouble since she was often off in her own head. She didn't need jokes or quick comebacks or constant chatter or competition. Not that he usually minded doing those things, he liked all that stuff and thrived off of it, but sometimes he liked to chill, too.

Hunk was actually undemanding like that, too. Lance had definitely lucked out in the roommate and best friend department.

"What're you singing?"

"Nothing. I made it up."

"Ah, got it."

They reached the beach access that belonged to a family friend, and Lance put his little sister down. Both of them took off their shoes and tucked them off to the side of the path. When her sandals were hidden, Josie grabbed his hand instead of running ahead like usual, and he squeezed her fingers.

It was sunset, and the sky was glowing orange and red as they stepped out onto the sand. The sea was calm, the waves striking the sand with a steady rhythm like a heartbeat.

As they walked, Josie finally let go of his hand to pick up shells from the tideline. She liked the ones with little holes in them so she could turn them into necklaces and bracelets and anklets. After a while Lance got ahead of her, though he was walking slowly. He glanced behind to see her taking big steps, putting her feet in his footprints as she followed along.

Lance sat down next to somebody's abandoned sandcastle and waited for her to catch up, digging his toes into cool sand. She wandered over and plopped down right beside him. Leaning over, she set a little black mermaid's purse on his knee.

"Where'd you find this?" he asked, picking it up and turning it over in his hand. When he had been Josie's age, he thought that skate egg cases were the coolest thing to find except for shark teeth. There was an entire jar of them back in his room at home.

"Back there, up the beach," she said, pointing back where they came from. She tilted to the side and laid some of her other finds out on the sand in a line. Tiny purple shards, pieces of spirals, half of an orange-tinted conch, a few complete shells.

Lance leaned over her and picked up a small blue shell. " _Pajarita_? If I ask you a question, can you tell me the truth?" He rolled the shell over in his hand and glanced at her.

Josie didn't look up from inspecting her haul. "Okay…"

"Are you all right? You just seem…upset. Or scared. Are you scared of something?" Lance set the blue shell back beside her other shells and tried to gauge her expression. He wasn't prepared for her eyes to well up with tears.

"Do you have to go back?"

"Huh? Josie, what…" Lance automatically reached for her, drawing her closer. Ahhh, nooo…

She shook her head and then pressed her palms to her eyes. Her shoulders trembled, and Lance mentally flailed. Ah, crying baby sister was the worst.

"Josie, Josie," he said, hugging her, "Please don't cry, I'm not going back to the Garrison for another couple days—"

"No, I don't want you to go back," she said, her voice breaking. She pulled away and clapped her hands against his face, like she wanted him to focus. "Something bad is going to happen."

Lance reached up and grabbed her hands in one of his, pulling them off his face. "What in the world are you talking about? Nothing bad's going to happen."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not."

"Is too."

"Josie…"

"It is too!" she practically shrieked, and he leaned back, surprised. She rarely raised her voice, and he couldn't remember the last time she had yelled at him. Scrambling to her feet, she turned toward him, her hands forming little angry fists at her sides. "It is!"

"Okay, okay," he said, holding his hands up, his eyes wide. "Why do you think something bad is going to happen?"

Josie made a face and shrugged. "It just is."

"All right…Look, I have to go back to the Garrison—"

"No!"

Wow, did she just stomp her foot against the sand? Who was this and where was his peaceful baby sister? He blinked at her and stood up. Time to calm down. Taking her by the hand, he led her to the edge of the surf, where they stood silently for a few moments, letting the waves play at their toes.

"Better?"

"No…"

"Josie." Lance knelt down so that they were eye level with each other, the saltwater racing around his legs. "I know you don't want me to, but I have to go back to the Garrison. I'll call every day and check in, all right? I promise. I'll be fine, they don't even let us fly real ships yet."

She pouted and shook her head, making Lance sigh.

"I'll tell Hunk that you said to keep an eye on me. Will that help?"

Finally, she nodded. "I guess."

"Good!" He swept her up into a huge hug and then grinned at her. "Now let's go get some Italian ice before we go back." Because that would make everything better.

* * *

A few weeks later, on the Castle ship, trillions of miles away from home, Lance sat between his lion's massive metal paws and looked down at his dead cell phone. He couldn't call from here.

He was breaking a promise, and he had lied to his little sister.

What a great big brother he was.

What a good, responsible son to his parents, who by now would've been told that he was dead. KIA, MIA, something that the Garrison could write off as a training accident. Maybe he had officially died in one of the explosions Keith had set off. Or in a manufactured speeder crash. His family would get some empty condolences and a flag, never knowing that really he had just flown off in some kind of magic mecha robot lion spaceship without even thinking about the consequences...

Above him, Blue hummed, and he felt something cool and faint but insistent at the back of his mind. Acceptance. Encouragement. Forgiveness for that whole crash-into-the-sand incident earlier.

Lance sighed at the lion. "Think I'll ever get to go home, Blue?"

This time the feeling was stronger.

_Reassurance._

He looked at the messy hemp braid around his ankle, a small blue shell tied into it by tiny hands. Those hands belonged to someone who thought he was a good big brother. His family would want him to come home. He would get there one day. Touching the little braid, he half-smiled up at the lion. "Yeah, me too."


End file.
